Girardot, Colombia

Girardot is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is the second most important city of Cundinamarca according to its production. It is home to a number of recreational and vacational spots, mainly visited by people from Bogotá, as it is located at two hours drive from the city but enjoys a tropical climate (compared to the cold and rainy climate of Bogotá). The municipality had a population of 109,792 (2020 estimate), and form a small metropolitan area together with the neighbouring municipalities of Flandes and Ricaurte.

In pre-Columbian times the municipality of Girardot was inhabited by a tribe of Indians called the “Panches” whose origins are unknown. The municipality began with the hamlet of “La Chivatera” (the goat farm) because it was very common in the area to raise goats. The hamlet was located in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Tocaima, of which documents exist dated 1840 calling it “paso de Flandes” (step of Flanders). Through the aforementioned hamlet runs the Magdalena river moving southwest towards the center of the country.